Tom C Gooch Elementary School

Withers is a great neighborhood school with awesome options for dual language and gen ed (we are in dual but have lots of friends in gen ed and very happy!) There is a ton of parental involvement and lots of opportunities to be involved.

Great school! Highly recommend. The teachers really care.

La peor escuela de Estados Unidos, la subdirectora es una racista, no tiene educación ninguna, prácticamente me secuestraron a mi hijo.

During my past few years as a parent at this school, I've realized that this school has many shortcomings that prospective parents should be aware of. The first is the class size. Every class in kindergarten is well above the state cap. One class has 31 kinder students- thirty-one!!! That ratio makes it nearly impossible to build teacher/student relationships, monitor student progress, or really provide any individual attention at all regardless of how skilled the teacher is. The classes within a grade level are not balanced either. Some have 16 or 17 while other classes in the same grade have 25 or 26. Several grades have split level classes. This means that your first grader may be put in a class with mostly second grade students. As a result, your first grader will not see any of his or her friends at recess, lunch, or during specials. They will be isolated from everyone they have been friends with for an entire school year. It's really sad to see your child separated and missing all of their friends and working on above grade level curriculum they may or may not be ready for. This school uses and openly supports shame based punishment. Students clip up or down on a behavior chart displayed in front of the whole class. Can you imagine as an adult if every time you made a mistake at work, you had to get up in front of your collogues to move a clip with your number down? Or, if every time you did something compliant, you clipped up above your coworkers? This behavior system is antiquated, goes against current academic research, and creates a competitive community where students are viewed and labeled as good or bad in front of everyone. At a time when youth are struggling with mental health more than ever, this school disregards student emotional well being and places more emphasis on compliance and fear/shame based behavior management. The communication about academics at this school is inconsistent. Only a few teachers send out weekly newsletters. Parents have no clue what their students are working on, which in turn makes it very difficult to support your child academically. Yes, there was one curriculum night that overviewed the entire year, but for parents who want to work with their child at home, you are left on your own guessing what would be beneficial. Many of these shortcomings would be easy to fix; it's just not a priority which is a shame. This could be a great school, but it needs a leader with a vision who strives for growth.

Our son is a "Lifer" with Westwood. He started in Kindergarten and is now in High School. We have experienced sports, grade level plays, Middle School, Covid, and Post Covid in an academic environment. All through the process, we have met great parents, amazing parent mentors (who teach you the ropes), and Faculty who learns how to teach your child. Your child will learn to read and write in any school, however, it is through the support of Faculty and the community you join, you will see your child in a comfortable environment to grow and mature.

This marvelous place! These kind, patient, hardworking people! This loving, trusting, supportive, non-judgmental community! Vanguard has been an absolute dream for my family. The preschool and pre-K years were a struggle for my daughter at schools that were not set up for kiddos whose brains work differently. We worried that a school where she could be supported, listened to, and loved for who she is did not exist... until we found Vanguard. From the moment she stepped on the campus to visit, my daughter has felt at home. Her classes are small and taught by excellent professionals who lead with love and kindness at every turn. She receives individual attention when she needs it, as well as valuable, daily feedback that has helped her with her behavioral challenges, building friendships, and creating a solid academic background for the future. She and her peers learn how to love and accept themselves and their peers for who they are, even as they work to meet their daily challenges. In addition, the school encourages continual communication with families. If a problem crops up, we hear about it immediately from her teacher and we work together to figure out a solution. Parents are also encouraged to escalate concerns to school administration ASAP so that solutions can be collaboratively constructed. But at the core of everything, we have seen results: it's no longer a struggle to convince our daughter to go to school, she loves her teachers and her peers, she takes pride in her schoolwork, and her confidence has grown with each passing year. We absolutely love Vanguard and the innovative, loving, and dedicated people who work here.